To Hoth and Back
by dldaddy
Summary: After a hard-fought victory in the battle for Sigma Octanus IV, Kelly and her fellow Spartans are thrown into another major conflict as the Imperial Fleet closes in on the Rebel base. Halo/Star Wars Crossover Slightly AU for both
1. Chapter 1

_July 18, 2552__  
UNSC Leviathan  
Sigma Octanus System_

The Pelican's ramp steadily moaned about its duties as light from the UNSC Leviathan's hanger illuminated the wartorn bird's hull. Kelly watched as one broken spirit after another walked past her and out into the busy area. The Spartan couldn't say that she felt much different. On the one hand, her group seemingly (and for the time being) had kept all of Sigma Octanus IV from being glassed. The small victory, however, came at a high cost.

Kelly glanced over her shoulder as her heavy footfalls clanged upon the Leviathan's floor. Reverberations from the rest of the Spartans' steps filled the bay as Kelly stopped. The scene outside was nothing less than a graveyard of twisted metal and broken steel that used to be UNSC and Covenant forces. The Spartan didn't want to think about the number of corpses floating around, never to be recovered or remembered. Just to float aimlessly forever or to fall into orbit and burn into nothing.

A scar now laid upon a once pristine world. Where there was once a large section of green and gray was now blackened, the work of the Havok tactical nuke that Kelly and her fellow Spartans had deployed. Many thousands of Covenant of all classes were wiped out in an instant, but Kelly was sure that number would pale in comparison to the number of human casualties now gone along with the streets of Côte d'Azur.

A slight tug on her hand broke Kelly's attention away from the vaccuumed cemetary and onto a small girl. The towering Spartan took a knee. She knew this girl, and Kelly knew what was coming.

The little girl had not seen the Elite that had cut her parents down with its blade, but Kelly had. She could have sworn the son of a bitch smiled when he saw the helpless child and began stalking toward her. The little girl noticed the monster headed for her and clutched her stuffed monkey, Wilfred she had called it later, as the Elite approached. As it closed in the little brunette dropped into a ball, Wilfred shielding her head like a noble protector.

A single round from Kelly's MA5D got the Elite's attention. It turned toward the Spartan as it let out a primal roar.

Kelly began firing off successive rounds at the Elite as it began to close the gap. Bullets richocheted off its shields as they flickered from each shot.

Kelly fired the last shot from the pistol and watched as the field surrounding her assailant collapsed.

Still the beast kept coming, unimpeded. Kelly thought delusions of grandeur in killing a 'demon' probably clouded its judgement.

She unshouldered her M-90 shotgun and leveled it at the Elite's chest as it closed the gap. The sizzle from the Elite's plasma sword was suddenly drown out as the M-90 barked out two successive shots.

The Elite roared in agony but continued forward, albeit much slower than before. The creature took a half-hearted swing with its blade, which Kelly easily sidestepped. The Spartan stuck the barrel into the Elite's exposed side and pulled the trigger. The angle of the shot blew a large hole out of the creature's back as it fell backward, lifeless to the ground.

"Ms. Kelly, I can't find my mom and dad. Can you help me?" Kelly had insisted the little girl just call her Kelly, as somehow the little girl's politeness just made the situation worse. Her manners wouldn't be swayed, however.

Normally Kelly disliked the fact that people shied away from the Spartans, but this was one time she wished she could avoid the contact. Kelly was trained in all manner of warfare. She could kill Covenant, breach defenses and destroy entire cities. Facing this little girl, though, was a task she felt ill-equipped to handle.

Kelly unlatched her helmet and sat it upon her knee. The expression that crept across the little girl's face made her wonder if removing it was the right thing to do. "I knew it."

"What?" Kelly looked at the little girl inquisitively.

"Bobby Brookshire said you guys were monsters… Or robots. With glowing red eyes and metal teeth. I didn't believe him. He was always mean."

Kelly wondered if Bobby Brookshire managed to make it out. Unfortunately she doubted it.

"No sweetie. We are people, just like you." Kelly thought back to the time when she was just like the little girl before her. Times when she and John went on missions of Cpl. Mendez' choosing, or simply or spent hours just talking out in open fields. Of course it wasn't true now, but Kelly hoped her bond with the past could give the girl comfort before she unleashed an emotional hell upon her.

The Spartan took a deep breath as she searched for words to say. Suddenly hurried footsteps stopped beside them.

"Kaitlin? Is that you? You're alright!"

The Spartan looked up to see a slender woman covered with dirt and and dried blood bending down to hug the little girl. "Mrs. Greenlee?"

Kaitlin seemed unsure, although the two quickly hugged. The older lady then stood with Kelly. She paused briefly, probably noting the Spartan's exceptional height. Her eyes told the tale of pure exhaustion and dread.

"My name is Erica. I was Kaitlin's english teacher. I had thirty students in the class with her." The lady quickly began to choke up. "Kaitlin is the only one I see here." The woman's tears spilled down her cheeks as Kelly looked down at the little girl.

Kaitlin seemed uninterested in the conversation, instead scanning the hangar as medics rushed around the room, tending to the wounded. To the left of her a man clung to a woman tightly as she collapsed to the ground. She kept screaming "My Baby!" repeatedly.

"Do you know if her parents…" Kelly quickly cut the woman off with a slight shake of her head.

Erica covered her mouth as tears streamed down her face. She quickly wiped them away and took a deep breath.

"Does she know?"

"No, I was about to tell her when you walked up." The woman looked down at the little girl and looked back to Kelly.

"I will tell her if that is OK." It felt as though a weight heavier than her armor had been lifted off Kelly's shoulders.

"OK. And see to it that she is taken care of." Kelly noticed John walking towards the trio in her periphery.

"I will. She's all I've got." Teary-eyed, the woman was leading Kaitlin away when suddenly she broke from Erica's grip and ran back over, Wilfred extended at arm's length.

"Here, take Wilfred with you. He will protect you."

"But Wilfred is your protector Kaitlin." Kelly looked down at the little girl, even with arms raised and a whole twelve inches of stuffed Wilfred above that she barely reached Kelly's chest.

"No, he's not nearly as big as you are. He will protect you, and you can protect me."

The Spartan smiled as she examined the child's attempt at logic.

"Sounds like a plan."

Kelly took Wilfred as Kaitlin and Erica walked away, the child having a slight spring in her step from the exchange. Kelly knew that would soon be gone.

"You OK?" John's gruff voice sounded through his external speakers as Kelly inspected Wilfred. There was a slight tear in the doll's left shoulder, and somewhere along the line its right googly eye had fallen off.

"Yeah, I just hate it for her. Lost both of her parents today." Wilfred's arms flapped from front to back as Kelly gently twisted it from side to side.

"We did what we could."

"I know, but it never seems to be enough."

"Admiral Stanforth wants a debrief. We are all to report to the bridge."

"Let's go."

Admiral Stanforth stood staring at a large starchart as crew prepared the Leviathan for a slipspace jump.

"Slipspace jump in one minute Admiral."

"Thank you Benchley." The AI beside Stanforth was represented in full navy dress atire. His hair was regulation cut and he kept his cap tucked neatly under his left arm.

No one in the room seemed to be looking around at Kelly and the others as they walked toward the Admiral, even though that many Spartans in a room was a sight to behold. Kelly stood next John and Fred at Stanforth's left while Grace, Linda and Joshua stood to the right. Instead of admiring, the crew was busy moving their hands incessantly across holoscreens and other controls, checking the ship's systems and functions.

The viewport would have been breathtaking for someone not acclimated to it. Well over a dozen UNSC ships of various classifications sat seemingly still against a backdrop of Sigma Octanus IV's moon, which was half eclipsed. One by one ships began to disappear in brilliant flashes as they cut a hole into slipspace and exited the system.

"Slipspace jump in twenty sec… Admiral, power-up detected off port. Covenant-class cruiser coming around to firing position." The AI's calm demeanor didn't lend itself to the seriousness of the situation. Admiral Stanforth knew the Leviathan was about to be broadsided.

"Dammit, the bastards waited until we were alone. Benchley, full power to the slipspace drives. Get us the hell out of here."

"Transferring… Slipspace jump in ten seconds. Covenant plasma inbound. Time to impact 9 seconds."

A rift in space itself opened before the Leviathan. "All hands, prepare for impact!"

There was nowhere to go. The Leviathan sat waiting to enter slipspace and could no longer maneuver out of the plasma's path.

"Admiral, tracking two plasma munitions. Impact in four…" Slipspace began to engulf the ship.

Suddenly alarms blared as the ship was rocked. Kelly and the other Spartans managed to stand as some of the crew were tossed form their posts and onto the floor.

"Venting in level C-2. Sealing."

"Sir, slipspace drive failing! Exiting slipspace in three seconds!"

Kelly's field of vision distorted as a sudden feeling of nasuea began to rise up within her.

"Second, what's happening?"

"Not sure admiral. Some form of anomale within slipspace. Exiting… Now."

A flash washed across the forward screen and was quickly replaced with stars.

"Sir, second plasma ordinance detected following us out of slipspace. Impact in 5 secon…"

"Evasive maneuvers, now!"

Kelly momentarily lost her footing as the ship shifted hard to port.

"Correction made. Second plasma ordinanace missed. Admiral, five unknown contacts detected."

"What in the hell?" Everyone on the bridge turned to look out the viewport. The space in front of them was littered with ships, very large ones. They each had a distinct triangular symmetry to their design, with the exception of a large rectangular structure towering above one side.

"I want to know what and who they are Benchley. Now"

"Unknown classification sir. Nothing remotely similar in UNSC databases. Sir, there is a problem."

The AI didn't have to explain. Everyone who looked through the viewport could see the trail of whitehot plasma streaming on a collision course with the nearest ship.

"Find a way to establish contact. Now!"


	2. Chapter 2

_**Time unknown**_

_**Location unknown**_

Kelly clenched and released her armored fist continually as she watched the plasma. The gentle and graceful light looked like a shooting star as it made its silent journey.

_Why the hell aren't they moving?_

"Sir, the ship does not seem to be taking evasive maneuvers. I am reading a large power surge, however."

"Benchley, give me contact with that ship."

"Sir, communication is down. It is quite probable that we do not have the same communication technology. Even if contact is made it is highly unlikely we will speak the same language."

"Dammit, we don't need another war with an alien race!" The Admiral's voice was gruff. Kelly noticed his teeth clinch as he stared out of the viewport.

"Plasma impact in 5 seconds Admiral." Kelly took a deep breath as the scene unfolded

A brilliant glow suddenly spread as the plasma impacted the ship. Kelly watched the plasma thin out and coat over the ship as its structure suddenly fell apart. The glow was gone. The bridge was quiet as the crew took in what they were seeing.

The large ship had scorch marks that ran along its top and bottom surfaces, but otherwise appeared unharmed.

"They must have shielding of some sort. That ship should have considerable damage." Benchley mused as if no one else was around to hear it.

Flashes of light quickly began flashing in front of and past the viewport.

The ship shook violently as alarms began to blare.

"Sir! Engine two down to sixty-three percent! Engine one holding steady at eighty-five!" Shouted one crewman.

Another followed.

"Decks B six and c fourteen are now sealed! Core reactor cooling approaching critical!"

"Benchley, get us out of here."

"Sir, unknown class of craft approaching. Reading thirty contacts."

"Target them with Archers and fire up the point. We need to break off contact with whoever this is until we can find a way to establish cont…"

A quick stream of light flashed through space and impacted the enemy ship. The towering structure above the vessel's main body splintered into three sections as large portions broke off and drifted into space. The ship immediately began to veer off any course it had taken toward the Leviathan.

"Benchley, pinpoint where that shot came from. If there is someone on the ground I want to know about it. I don't need to make any more friends today."

"Scanning… Power signatures seem to indicate habitation. There also seems to be some form of shielding surrounding this area." An image of the planet appeared with a triangle over a small section, which quickly zoomed in.

"It appears to be a crude base of some sort. Defenses appear to be laser-based. The shot that destroyed the craft seemed to come from here."

A small round structure with a protrusion on one side came into focus as another set of small explosions caused the bridge to shudder.

"Sir, point guns two and four reporting several enemy aircraft destroyed. Still unknown class. From what I can gather the ships look similar to this…"

The holographic structure was replaced by an odd-looking ship. Its apparent wings were vertical hexagonal-shaped panels that connect by short shafts to a ball positioned in the center.

"It appears its main weaponry is two laser-based canons mounted on one side of the ball, which I also assume is the cockpit area for the craft. It does not appear to have shielding like the larger ship. The lasers do not appear to pose a large threat to our plating. However, it will likely not belong before they hit something important. It appears another larger craft is moving into intercept. Marking it as target Alpha."

"Status on the smaller ships?"

"Reports indicate they are sixty percent destroyed. More are on the way, however."

"How many?"

"Reading one-hundred new signatures."

"Alright, give me best speed to the planet's surface. We will take the chance on the smaller ones catching us before then versus having to deal with their big brother. Prepare Archers for another volley and scramble any available aircraft. Have them follow the missiles in and clean up behind them.."

"Noted Admiral. Launching fifteen Longswords. Twenty-five Pelicans being placed on standby."

The numbers sucked. Admiral Stanforth knew he was sentencing the pilots to certain death if the attackers did not break off.

"Sir, I am reading a hull breach in section D four. It appears we have visitors. Reading twenty contacts within the hallway moving fast. Routing members from the one-hundred-fifth platoon to intercept."

"Cancel that Benchley. I don't want to take chances with these unknowns."

Stanforth turned to John. "You and the other Spartans head down there Chief. See if it is possible to establish some sort of communication. Use non-lethal means if at all possible."

"Yessir. Spartans move out." Kelly was already headed toward the door with the others in tow. She turned a corner and broke into a sprint as the next pathway revealed a long bright hallway. Kelly's breathing deepened as the impact of six thousand pounds' worth of Spartan footsteps echoed off the hallway's grated floor.

Crew and civilians alike poked their heads out doors and around corners to see what the commotion was and then quickly retreated out of the soldiers' ways.

Kelly's breaths inside her mask resounded in her ears. A simultaneous blending of exhilaration and horror tried to affix themselves to her inner being. She could only hope this fight would not be costly. Humanity had already suffered much.

"You may want to slow down. Contacts are around the next corridor." John's voice suddenly made Kelly aware that she was alone. She had always been the fastest Spartan, and once again she proved it without trying.

Kelly slowed as the other Spartans footfalls softened behind her.

"Grace, you and Joshua take up positions in those doorways. Do not let anything through. We have civilians everywhere in this section of the ship."

The two took their places on opposite sides. The hallway didn't provided few defensive positions. If anything went wrong, everyone was going to get hit.

"Linda, go to the far end of the hall. Set up and be ready. Fred and I will take the first to come around the corner hostage. Hopefully that will prevent any fighting. Kelly, you are our backup if it doesn't. We will retreat back down the hall if necessary while Linda provides cover. Understood?"

Five acknowledgement lights blinked as the Spartans pressed against the sidewall. The sounds of footsteps echoed off walls as Kelly steadied her breathing.

"Commander, we are in the vessel and are making our way toward the bridge now."

_They speak English?_ The idea seemed preposterous to Kelly. The chances of such a thing being true were beyond astronomical, yet more conversation from around the corner confirmed it.

John's reaction was instant as the barrel of a gun appeared within view. Reaching around, the Spartan grabbed the point soldier and wrapped his arm around the soldier's neck.

"Tell your friends to back off. We need to talk." John backed away and to the right of the corner, making sure the other Spartans had clean shots.

"The empire does not talk to Rebel scum."

"Sorry, but we are not rebels. We are here by mistake. Now lets play nice and have a chat."

The other white and black clad soldiers made their way into the hall, cautiously training their weapons on the Spartans, who returned the favor.

"You attacked an Imperial ship. Lord Vader will not have pity on you and neither will we."

Kelly saw the man try to break from John's grip, but underestimated the strength the Spartan contained.

"Listen, we do not want to fight. We somehow ended up here and now we need to get home. The blast that hit your ship wasn't even ours, but from a battle we had been engaged in."

"Then you should have taken the blast instead of our ship. That mistake will be corrected."

With a quick nod from the soldier Kelly's shields flared. Lasers from the soldiers filled the hallway as Joshua and Grace's rifles chattered in protest.

The soldier closest to Kelly's head exploded as a sabot round sailed straight through his helmet. Linda's shot continued and impacted the head of the soldier behind him, causing blood to flow over his white armor as he collapsed.

Kelly's shields dropped to fifty-eight percent as she rolled and brought her M-90 to bare. Seeing that Kelly was in trouble, Fred spun and sunk his combat knife into the side of the enemy soldier's neck.

As quickly as he retracted the blade he grabbed another soldier, slinging him by the arm into a wall. Before he could react Fred's knife was half-deep into his chest.

Seeing a slight lull in the barrage Kelly quickly mowed down two more soldiers as John's pistol added to the concussive chorus.

"Fall back!" The rest of the enemy soldiers quickly disappeared around the corner.

John quickly turned and pushed the soldier toward Joshua. "Take him to holding while we track down the others. Benchley, I need a route. Get us behind them.

"One moment, calculating… The access panel to your left will enter into the ships duct system. You should be able to follow it and cut them off. They appear to be attempting to gain access to rooms. Currently I am managing to keep them out."

"Fred, you and Kelly get into the tunnels and get behind them. Let's end this before civilians get hurt."

Two acknowledgement lights blinked as Fred and Kelly quickly ran to the access panel to the left as it slid open to allow them inside.

A ring of light washed over Kelly as her shields recharged. The tunnel wasn't the most accommodating size for a supersoldier, but was a necessary route. The soldiers had been easy enough to neutralize, but the threat of them attacking civilians and other unprotected crew weighed heavily.

Turning another corner, Kelly's integrated light shined beyond Fred and onto another access panel. Slowly they crept as footsteps echoed from the hall beyond. There was a shuffling of crates and feet as barriers were erected. Fred took a quick survey of the area beyond.

"Chief, come in. They are fortifying their position. From what I can see there are six on the left. Not sure how many are left on the right."

"Alright, stay put until we engage. After that, you and Kelly hit their rear. Let's get this done."

"Copy that."

Silence filled the air as Kelly checked her ammo count. She needed a reload, but couldn't risk the noise it would create.

Sounds of laser fire rang out and automatic rifles responded. Fred held up a hand and quickly curled all his fingers but one. After what seemed like too long he thrust his hand forward and ran out of the duct.

Kelly quickly followed as Fred planted his knife between the nearest soldier's shoulder blades. A quick flow of blood streaked down the white armor as the man screamed.

Four other soldiers heard it and quickly turned and fired on Fred. His shields flickered and sparked before failing from the close range battering. He quickly shouldered one soldier as he extended a leg into the other.

To watch Fred fight was like a violent ballet lesson.

Several more soldiers fell as fire from the Master Chief's squad connected. Planting her shotgun hard across the back of a soldier's head, Kelly got her first look at the enemy as his helmet flew off over the barricade and rolled toward the other Spartans' positions.

An olive-skinned man with black hair fell to the ground unconscious, a slight trickle of blood flowing from his left ear. The sight gave Kelly pause.

_We are fighting humans?"_

Fred also noticed the man's body. "Fred to all Spartans! Cease fire immediately! Kelly and I will use non-lethal means on whoever is left."

Fred and Kelly both leapt amongst the four remaining soldiers. Kelly landed a forearm on the first as he fell to the ground and ceased to move. Several blasts grazed her shields as Kelly closed the gap with the second one.

With a quick swipe she knocked the weapon from his hands. Grabbing an arm, Kelly swung it back behind him and held the soldier still. She looked over to see that Fred had done the same.

John and the others pushed the barricade aside and walked over to Fred's position.

"What's going on?"

Fred said nothing, but instead placed his hand under the soldier's helmet and yanked. The other Spartans stood staring at the human before him.

"Wait a minute…" Everyone turned to look at Kelly.

"That guy… Is the same as this guy."

"That's because they are clones." Benchley's voice was matter of fact.

"I have determined some interesting details from our first prisoner. The Admiral would like for you to escort your prisoners to the brig and meet him on the bridge at once. We are headed for the planet's surface and are in need of preparations."

"You are all dead. Lord Vader and the empire will not let you get away wi…" A solid _crack_ sounded as the Master Chief stood over a now unconscious body.

"We really need to figure out who this Lord Vader guy is."

* * *

_**Thanks to all who have been reading! Please read and review! :0)  
**_


	3. Chapter 3

**_Location: Surface of planet Hoth, system unknown  
Time: Unknown_**

The doors to the conference room parted with a hushed swoosh as Admiral Stanforth looked up from his high-backed leather chair

The doors to the conference room parted with a hushed swoosh as Admiral Stanforth looked up from his high-backed leather chair. The table in front of him was massive and antique. The usual metal or acrylic was replaced with a dark cherry wood that seemed timeless. Kelly removed her helmet and placed it on the table in front of her and remained standing as all the other Spartans did.

"Be seated everyone. I will cut to the chase here. From what we have ascertained from the first prisoner, as well as intel Benchley has managed to dig up, it seems we have jumped ourselves into an all out intergalactic rebellion. The planet below us seems to be housing what we are considering to be rebels. As for the ships, they appear to belong to what is called the 'Empire'."

"So where does that leave us?" John and Kelly's eyes met briefly before his darted in favor of Stanforth.

"In the middle of another mess. We don't have any clear ideas on where we are…"

"Or WHEN we are…" Benchley had been silent, but seemed more than eager to inject the tidbit.

"Our navigation computers are, for lack of a better phrase, on the verge of a nervous breakdown. Repairs are already underway on the damaged drives. However, we will need to land and shut down other systems to be able to repair them fully."

"That's where the Spartans come in." Stanforth quickly maneuvered himself back to the focus of the conversation.

"Master Chief, I need you and your team to try to make contacts with the rebels. I am not interested in making friends, as we don't know the history and frankly don't know who the 'good guys' are."

"True, it wasn't long ago that we were hunting rebels ourselves." The Admiral nodded at John as he clicked a button on the table's surface. A large holopanel shined in the middle of the table revealing the planet.

"It appears the planet's name is 'Hoth'. It also appears the rebels have a base somewhere in this area." A Triangular symbol highlighted a certain portion of the globe as the globe broke into smaller multiples of itself, giving each observer at the table the same view.

"We will be landing here, approximately five clicks south of their position. Benchley is still attempting to find some means to contact them via electronic means, but so far we haven't been able to get it right. That's why you Spartans are going to give some face time. Get in there and see if you can get more information, like how in the hell we are supposed to get home. You will take a copy of Benchley with you, to see if he can somehow extract information from any electronic systems. Everyone clear?"

"Yessir!" The acknowledgement resounded loudly in the small room.

"Benchley, what is our ETA to surface?"

"Landing will take place in approximately twenty-three minutes. I am still running scans to make sure the surface will be stable enough. The terrain down there looks to be quite hazardous for large vehicles."

"Whatever you do Benchley, do not get us stuck."

"Of course Admiral." Benchley's image disappeared as Kelly's helmet sealed to her MJOLNIR armor. Taking the helmet off was always a weird exercise in Kelly's mind, and she imagined the other Spartans as well. Their entire suit had become an extension of themselves as much as any of their natural appendages.

"Nice monkey." Kelly looked down to see Wilfred still connected to her side. She had completely forgotten the stuffed animal was on her side during the fighting, and was glad to see he had made it intact, mostly. The tear in his shoulder had gotten worse and now the appendage seemed to be dangling by a thread.

Kelly felt John's hand upon her shoulder as she continued to look at her friend's protector. Kelly had never known the freedom that childhood provided. She and her fellow Spartans had only know training and war and death.

"It's all she has left. The damned covenant took everything else."

She longed to give the animal back to the little girl, as she knew the child's world and all she had known had been violently ripped away. Kelly remembered her own world being ripped away and her parents being replaced with Cpl Mendez and Dr. Catherine Halsey. Any feelings of returning home were crushed. Lies that were told to keep the children in line.

Kelly knew, however, that the Spartans were now desperately needed. More and more children and parents were sharing Kaitlin's story. The story of loss. Kelly placed her hand on top of John's and gripped it gently.

"We have to get back home and stop the Covenant, John." Kelly wondered if they would truly be able to stop them. On the ground the Spartans couldn't be matched, and had proven it time and again. The space war, however, was being lost quickly and decisively.

The two stopped at a small window and stared out at the world that now surrounded them. The majesty of millions of stars and moons and planets had been replaced by a thick white blanket. Millions of individual flakes of snow flew past the window in a frantic right to left squall. Some landed on the glass and melted momentarily, only to freeze back quickly.

"Come on Kelly, let's head down to the armory and see if we can find something to cheer you up."

"You always know how to charm."

Kelly looked over her bounty as she and the other Spartans stood ready. The light above the airlock flashed intermittent red as Kelly traced her hand along the coil that snaked its way around her BR55. A special heater element attached itself to the stock. The conditions outside the ship were going to be rough, as wind howled and Benchley warned of a negative sixty degree Celsius reading.

The Jackhammer and MA5D Kelly carried also had similar alterations, as any moisture that managed to build up on the weapons would quickly freeze and render the weapon useless.

Grace was busy prepping various explosive into a thermal bag. Small squares and malformed putty in individual bags filled the thermal bag's expanse. John also had a Jackhammer, as did Joshua. Linda incessantly looked over her sniper rifle, making sure that the optics was well wrapped and wired to keep them from fogging up. Fred slammed the receiver on his BR55 and with a quick flip of his hand holstered his combat knife.

A frigid blast of air hit the group as the doors parted, Kelly's hydrostatic gel compensated and instantaneously matched the heat given off by the Spartan's body. Visibility was virtually zero as Kelly's foot landed in the snow and settled on the Permafrost below it, burying her and the other Spartans up to their knees.

Kelly wasn't looking forward to dredging through the soft powder, however the consensus between the brass and technicians had been that craft would not fare well in the low temperatures.

_Now I know what it feels like to be in a snowglobe._ Kelly thought about the ornament she had shaken as a child. It was one of the few memories she had before being conscripted into the Spartan-II program. Flakes dodged to either side of her visor like pedestrians avoiding a runaway car. Kelly paced herself knowing this would be a long run and she certainly didn't want to get separated from the rest in this environment.

A single dot blipped on her motion tracker. It was gone just as quickly as another appeared ahead and to the left. "We've got movement up ahead."

"Copy that, picked up the signatures as well." Fred's voice fell silent along with Kelly's motion sensor. The Spartan slowed long enough to detect the other Spartans behind her.

Kelly struggled to see through the walls of snow being shoved past her in a horizontal fashion. The outline of an outcropping made itself visible as she neared it. "Looks like a good place for an ambush."

"Copy that. Form up tight. Joshua, Linda and Grace will cover the rear. Kelly will lead point while Fred and I flank."

Looking to her left, Kelly noticed what appeared to be a cave dug into a wall of snow and earth. Looking to the right revealed the same. "Looks like some sort of animals live out here. I can't imagine a human being able to survive in conditions like these."

A massive blow knocked Kelly off her feet as she slid across hardened ice and impacted a bank of much more forgiving snow. A loud roar sounded through her speakers followed by several others. Kelly noted at least ten blips instantly on her motion tracker. Her shields had dropped to forty-five percent.

_Nice shot, now its my turn._

Weapons fire sounded as Kelly got her first glimpse of the attackers. She looked quickly for her assault rifle, which was nowhere to be seen. She leapt up and ran straight for the closest one, which was attempting to double-team John. She quickly fired several rounds from her pistol, which seemed to have no effect. The Master Chief fired into the other, which roared monstrously before falling.

To her surprise the beast seemed aware of her approach and hunkered down as the two impacted. The creature slid back in the snow as Kelly's momentum carried them both. The two came to a stop and Kelly quickly rolled to the right as the creature's massive arms swung down and impacted the snow. Not giving the creature time to regroup, the Spartan stuck her MA5B to the side of its head and squeezed.

Six new contacts flashed behind Kelly's position and she turned in time to be plowed over by several of the creatures. Her shield began to drop quickly as they pounded incessantly with heavy fists.

Kelly raised her arm to fire at her attackers, but the gun was quickly batted away. Alarms blared within her MJOLNIR armor as Kelly's shield collapsed. The Spartan managed to get a shot with her leg that sent one of the giant fur-covered creatures stumbling backwards. Suddenly it stopped and fell to the ground lifeless. Orange-red light began filling Kelly's periphery as it bolted through the air and impacted the creatures. One went straight through the head of the beast on her right. Kelly caught the creature as it collapsed on top of her.

More of the creatures continued to fall as the sound of the lasers' source became clear. Silhouettes turned into what looked to be heavily clothed people walking toward Kelly's position. They walked wearily, with their weapons trained on the other Spartans. The point for the group stood next to Kelly as energy flickered over her and her shield level showed one hundred percent.

"Need a hand?" The man's gruff voice was muffled by layers of clothes and wind. He reached his hand down to the Spartan.

"I don't think you really want to do that, but thanks."

"Are you always this unwilling to receive help?"

"Look, I weigh one-thousand pounds, are you always this willing to break your back?" Kelly realized the man might not know what a pound actually was, but that he probably got the message anyway. Rolling to her belly, Kelly got on hands and knees and stood.

The other Spartans stood alongside Kelly as the two groups faced off. An uneasy truce apparently in place by lack of shooting, the apparent leader stepped forward.

"I am Sergeant Derek Nadeau under the command of Major Bren Derlin. We detected your subsequent entrance into the Hoth system and attack by the Imperial destroyers. Now it seems you six have met up with our local residents, the Wampas."

_Wampas? Nice name. _A sly smile slid across Kelly's hidden face.

Derek seemed confident in his position, but some of his underlings seemed to Kelly to be very twitchy.

"I would ask that you put down your weapons and remain in our temporary custody until we can determine your reason for being here."

"No way in this icy hell am I letting go of this rifle." Linda was quick to retort, and Kelly understood. The rifle to a sniper of Linda's caliber was an extension of her own body. One she cared for and looked after like a child she would not let out of sight.

John held up a hand and Linda fell silent.

"We will holster our weapons, but not surrender them. We don't know why you are here either and could easily ask you to do the same."

Though no facial features could be read, Kelly was sure that Sgt. Nadeau was thinking it over. She could feel the eyes of the smallest one to her far right watching her incessantly.

Apparently not able to keep his thoughts hidden the smallest one stepped forward.

"Sir, these are obviously some sort of imperial spies. Just look at them! They look like just a variation on the stormtrooper design!"

"That is enough Granta! I will not have you starting wars that do not need starting." The man quickly fell back in line.

"Fine, you may keep your weapons on you. However anything perceived as aggression will be dealt with. Am I clear?"

"Clear enough. Spartans, stand down. Let's see where the good Serge will lead us."


	4. Chapter 4

Kelly felt piercing eyes staring at her and the other Spartans as two guards parted to reveal grey metallic doors

Kelly felt piercing eyes staring at her and the other Spartans as two guards parted to reveal grey metallic doors. The doors parted with a whoosh and Kelly could feel the hydrostatic Gel expand as it reacted to the warmer air inside. The place obviously lacked storage as stacked boxes and crates lined the walls, some hastily opened with their lids slid halfway off.

"Be on the lookout for a place to insert Benchley. Hopefully he can find something here to lead us back home." Kelly blinked her acknowledgement light, affirming the Master Chief's orders. As they rounded the next corner Kelly spied a data terminal -at least something that reminded her of one- to her left.

John must have noticed it too, as he slowed his walk. A coughing fit grabbed hold of him as the Master Chief hunched over. He then stood, struggling to keep balance. His weight shifted. As he was about to fall, John caught himself by planting his hands firmly on the data terminal.

"Is he alright?" Sgt. Nadeau began walking toward the troubled Spartan.

Fred and Kelly beat him there, lifting each of John's arms behind their heads and supporting him.

"Sir, are you alright?"

"I am fine. Some malfunction in my suit caused me to loose oxygen. I will be fine."

"Perhaps our techs can look your suit over once we arrive in the briefing room." A sinister smile crept across Kelly's face.

"Hook, line and sinker."

Sgt. Nadeau leaned back in his chair as he took in the story the Spartans had told. Of new alien races and the war of extermination against humanity.

"And you believe there is no way the aliens could follow you here?"

"No, we are not even sure where 'here' is. Not only have we apparently jumped space, but also time. At this point we are not sure how we are going to get back to our own time." Kelly's fingers fidgeted. Meetings were always so stuffy and unpleasant. Give a girl a battlefield and a gun in her hand.

Kelly looked at the woman sitting to Nadeau's right. A slender woman with brown hair. Next to her sat a man who looked to be about the same age, with similar hair. The man sat attentively as he listened. She didn't realize she had almost fell into a daze until the man began to speak.

"I believe you to be trustworthy, and we will help in any way we can. However, Imperial forces are on their way and we need to prepare. We need to be able to hold this base."

"My group would give you any support that we…"

The door to the room slid open and two robots, one short and cylindrical that propelled itself on three wheels, the other humanoid and gold, walked in, accompanied by four armed soldiers. The soldiers immediately trained their guns in the Spartans' direction.

"What is the meaning of…"

"Spies sir! The R2 unit found an unauthorized program running throughout the terminals."

"I am hardly a 'program', as you so crudely put it." Benchley's image projected from a lens on the robot's swerving dome.

"What is the meaning of this?" The woman finally spoke up in a surprisingly authoritative tone.

"No one is spying, Princess Leia." The woman grew more annoyed at Benchley's acknowledgement of her title.

"I am merely gathering facts that may help our little group get home. I have not changed nor sabotaged any of your systems."

"And we are supposed to just believe you?" Now standing, Leia looked over the group of Spartans.

"Believe me or not, I tell the truth. We needed your systems to find out…"

In a blur of motion, Private Granta brought fired his weapon which impacted Fred's shields. Kelly rolled out of her chair and came up prone with her weapon trained on the young soldier.

"Enough!" All activity ceased as the brown-headed man stood with arm extended.

"But Commander Skywalker! These are obviously agents for the empire! We must"

"No. Despite this, they have shown no hostility toward us. I do not believe they are here to do us any harm."

Another man, younger than Skywalker came into the room breathing heavily.

"Commander Skywalker, two groups of Imperial walkers on radar heading for Kerane Valley and for us!" The Commander turned quickly to the group, and instantly Kelly knew."

"Are they"

"Yes, your ship is in the vicinity of Kerane Valley. I would suggest us drop this manner. Remove your program from our terminals and go defend your people. We will do the same."

"What are Imperial Walkers?" No sooner had the Master Chief asked than an image of a four-legged machine with a data readout replaced Benchley."

"Big machine. Reminds me of a Scarab." Kelly continued scanning the Walker as it rotated in 3D space in front of her eyes.

"Then we should know how to take it down. Let's move out." John walked over and placed his hand on the small robot as it let out a tone that made it sound nervous. John removed his hand as the robot beeped and chirped.

"R2 hopes you can save your friends." The gold robot turned and walked out, followed by his shorter companion.

"We are sorry for our intrusion into your systems. It was not a matter of trying to betray your trust. We simply need information to help us get back home."

"Then you could have asked." A smile crept upon Commander Skywalker's face as he extended his hand.

"We will remember that." The Master Chief's hand enveloped Skywalker's as they shook.

"May the force be with you then."

"Yeah… Good luck."

Kelly wondered what the phrase meant as they exited back out into Hoth's climate. The storm had stopped, and although no sun was to be seen, at least there was visibility. They immediately broke into a sprint as they tried to open communications back up with the Leviathan. Static.

"I hope they see them coming. I am not sure what they can do groundside though." Joshua's comm clicked off as the group cleared the mesa.

"Where to Benchley?"

"The ship is northeast. The Walkers are North of us. At our present speeds, it appears that they will be in striking distance of the Leviathan. They have two long range lasers mounted along with two short range that will pose a problem if they are allowed to sustain fire for more than a few minutes. The Titanium-A armor of the ship should be able to hold them off for a bit, but there are probably stress points due to the landing and previous engagements that…"

"So stop them quick, we got it." Linda's quip brought a big smile as Kelly stifled a laugh.

"How many of them are there?"

"Four Walkers… Excuse me, they call them, 'AT-ATs'. Each can carry potentially forty troops."

"Four against one hundred sixty? Something should be done to make it more fair for them."

"Alright team, not much farther. Grace, you and Joshua are with Fred on Red Team. Get in front of them. Lay out some Lotuses so they get bit if they get too close. Kelly and Linda are with me on Blue Team. We will hit them with rockets first and if they are still standing we start the assault. Linda, see if you can find a vantage point for the cockpits. Take their pilots out. Also look out for troop deployments."

The sound of heavy footfalls began to fill Kelly's ears as she started up the last mesa. She led the others by a good two hundred meters, and as she stood atop the flat layer of snow, communications finally opened up.

"Connecting to the battlenet sir. Admiral Stanforth, this is Spartan zero eight seven, do you read?"

"Finally, I hope you all enjoyed the sights out there. We are picking up something headed our way."

"Affirmative sir. Armored transports called 'AT-ATs'. Hostile."

"Copy that. Keep them away from the ship. It is our only chance off this popsicle and getting back home. Any possible assistance from the rebels?"

"Negative. They have their own battle to fight."

"All right then, we will suit up here and send what we can. Some of the techs think they have a solution to get our birds in the air."

"Good, it looks like we will need the help."

Linda raced across Kelly's periphery as she headed for an outcropping of ice a couple hundred meters from the rear of the Leviathan. Kelly wished hard that the ship faced the other direction, as any fire would be concentrated on the engines. And the reactor.

An acknowledgement signal registered on Kelly's HUD. The walkers were now in Linda's range. The permafrost shook under Kelly and the Master Chief as they lay out of site. Mechanical movements echoed throughout the valley below.

"They appear to be moving about 70 kilometers per hour. Still, their size should make relatively easy targets. We hit them in ten." The Master Chief's voice cut off as more acknowledgement lights blinked.

Unsettling seconds ticked by as the machines grew louder, the sounds of hydraulics pushing the mighty weight of the legs. The mechanical whirring of rubbing joints as they continued closer.

"Now!" John and Kelly stood prone as plumes of smoke began trailing toward the hulking AT-ATs. A silent shot from Linda's sniper rifle Ricocheted off the nearest walker, dispersing snow into the air as it shot away from the battle.

"Dammit." Knowing the easy option was out, Kelly watched as the first rocket impacted. John's followed it as Grace, Fred and Joshua's rockets slammed its front. Each causing the machine to recoil slightly. As the last of the fire and smoke faded, Kelly felt a pang of disbelief as the machines continued their march with only some slight scarring of black bout the impact points.

"No damage visible through the scope. Looks like we are running out of..." Linda's voice disappeared as a wall of white spilled over Kelly and blue team. The lead AT-AT had zeroed in on the group and lasers struck. Trails of vapor rose quickly from the heated ice.

"Get behind them!" Kelly broke into a sprint as a laser exploded the ground beside her. Kelly flew shortly through the air and hit the ground rolling. Internal sirens blared as her shields failed.

A pair of hands grabbed her and hoisted Kelly out of the snow. "Just not fast enough this time."

"No. Lucky shot." Kelly pulled free from John as another bolt struck close by. Grabbing her jackhammer, Kelly followed the Master Chief to the walkers' rear.

"Fast enough this time?" Kelly could sense the serious look that John brandished as she bolted ahead of him.

"Fred, the Lotuses ready?" John's avoidance proved the point in Kelly's mind.

"Affirmative Master Chief. Ready and waiting." Kelly reached the last AT-AT first as John trailed closely behind. She knew striking out alone might not be the best approach.

"At least we won't get stepped on back here." The AT-ATs foot slammed the ground several meters ahead of Kelly. The snow crunched underneath, leaving behind a perfect imprint as it lifted.

"Should we see if they can take one up the ass?" Kelly hefted her jackhammer and aimed.

"Always the lady."

"And that's why you love me." Kelly smiled wide and pulled the trigger.


	5. Chapter 5

The missile flew true to its target

The missile flew true to its target. Bits of shrapnel exploded out in all directions as a fireball consumed the Spartan's view. Kelly began to squeeze the launcher's trigger again when a barrage of fire came from inside the AT-AT. Stormtroopers began rappelling down from the carrier as others covered them from inside.

"Looks like they use at least some tactics. Linda, care to pick off a few of these guys for us?" John and Kelly both rounded the back of the walker's circular feet as Linda's voice came through.

"Sorry guys, they are pinning me down with the smaller guns. I am trying to get another position going. Get back to you."

"We're taking a pounding up here as well, although Grace just set the last of the trip lines."

Kelly shouldered her Jackhammer and checked the clip in her BR-55. Satisfied, she slammed the magazine in and circled around the AT-AT's foot as it began to lift again. Kelly shifted her eyes, moving from one target to the next as lasers whirred past her visor. The targets themselves were not easy to distinguish from the snow surrounding them. Kelly's shield level sank to fifty-eight percent.

John and Kelly raced forward, dropping two troopers quickly. Kelly shifted her sights to the next one and sent two shots through his helmet. "Throw 'em if you got 'em. Kelly smiled at John's attempt at wit; She was definitely the better half in that department. Still the idea was sound.

Kelly's grenade joined John's in a near parallel arc as the two Spartans dropped to the ground. Snow parted in symmetrical swirls with each firing as Kelly downed another trooper. A glance back at her shield showed twenty-two percent.

Kelly turned her head as the AT-AT's giant foot slammed down. A chill ran through her body at the thought of being unlucky enough to end up under it. Even with the protections within her suit Kelly could feel the ground shudder beneath her. Kelly clenched her jaw and shook the thought out of her head. The armor on the leg lit up as if spotlighted before having bits of red and white thrown against it, the former sticking to it like a grotesque décor.

Instinctively the pair jumped back up and raced at the remaining soldiers. Their numbers appeared to have been cut in half, although the oncoming barrage of lasers made counting difficult. Kelly shot first this time, downing three more as she raced into the pack. The stormtroopers fell like weeds as the Spartans sprayed them with bullets. One soldier who seemed like he might have rank over the group charged Kelly. The Spartan braced herself as he impacted with her. Normally the impact would have had no effect on the half-ton Mjolnir armor, but Kelly slid on the snow's slick surface. Kelly was amused.

Grabbing the trooper by the shoulder, Kelly pushed him back, and then waved her finger in front of him. "Probably not the best idea you have ever had…" She squeezed forcefully and twisted, tossing the soldier's body into the air and directly into the AT-AT's footfall. The man barely had time to scream as the huge appendage crashed down.

"Sir, the other walkers are deploying their troops. It looks like they are holding about… forty each. I will be in position to fire in two."

"Copy Linda. Kelly and I are going to take out the rear."

"Advise you do that and get to safer ground so we can..."

"Master Chief, this is Tango six-one-two, Captain Taylor Monroe at your service. The admiral requested that I should be your personal taxi."

"Copy that Captain Monroe. Follow a vector west of us and get in behind these guys for a pickup. Probably the less rocky route."

"No problem. Be advised there is another snowstorm brewing. I might have a little trouble locating you."

"Just look for the big busted robot."

The pilot chuckled as John killed the link. Kelly pushed the zoom on the Jackhammer to twice magnification and peered inside the machine's belly. "This one's gonna hurt big guy."

The missile disappeared briefly inside the AT-AT's body before a ball of fire dislodged its head and sent it crashing to the ground. Metal popped and creaked as smoke bellowed from every hole. And then its front legs buckled and sent the body crashing down onto the head as both exploded violently.

A large piece of metal beamed right into Kelly. Her left wrist bent at an awkward angle. She grimaced as two ribs broke and alarms blared declaring the demise of her shield. Her short trip through the air agonizingly ended as she impacted the snow, which washed over her visor and blinded her completely.

"Well that hurt." Kelly lay still as her wits returned. She tried to move her left hand and pain shot up her arm. "Definitely broken." She breathed in heavily and was introduced to her broken ribs. New pain filled her. "Well damn, this day is just getting better all the time."

Kelly pushed at the slab and it moved slightly, but not enough to free herself.

"John, could use a little help."

"And here I thought you were just playing dead." The metal shifted then lifted as Kelly continued to push. It was probably a futile gesture, but one she made all the same.

With a quick flip the AT-AT remnant landed beside Kelly, and she could breathe a little easier, although not pain free. The Master Chief offered a hand, and Kelly pulled herself up.

"At least something still works on… lookout!"

Laser fire pelted their position as mist began to rise around them. Several dozen Stormtroopers were headed toward the Spartans, but that wasn't the main concern. News had spread of the first AT-AT's demise and now its closest neighbor had taken to guarding the rear. Heavy laser fire blew holes in the snow and permafrost surrounding the Spartans.

Kelly was relieved as the air around her crackled and her shields hummed back to life, although a shot from the AT-AT's main cannon would probably at least take them offline again. Kelly searched the snow for her now-missing jackhammer and frowned to see it lying in pieces about six meters away.

A quick blast of air blew across the white landscape and quickly covered the busted weapon. Trails of white began whipping to and fro in the air and grew rapidly into what seemed like solid sheets of white.

"Storm's here." Kelly cracked a blasé smile as she unshouldered her BR-55. Every movement was now uncomfortable as her ribs shifted and new waves of pain shot through Kelly's body.

"And now here is Kelly with sports." Kelly swept her rifle in the general direction she assumed the enemy was in and fire three consecutive bursts.

The walker's main gun blew a sizeable hole to Kelly's right. An idea sprang into her head apparently a second later than it did John's as he was already halfway into the makeshift foxhole as she began to drop in. The hole was a little more than waist deep, which would have to do.

"Tango six one two, this is the Master Chief, what's ETA on the pickup?"

"Coming around now ETA is sixty seconds. Area looks to be getting hot. I see you made good on your navigational marker promise."

"We have to give you flyboys something to remember."

"That's a hell of a landmark you got there."

"Yes it is, would be grateful for the pickup."

"We aim to deliver."

"Fred, how are you guys doing over there?"

"Hunkered down right now chief. Can't see a thing. Taken quite a few down so far, but haven't made a dent in the AT-ATs yet. It won't be long before they hit the tripline."

"Linda, what's your situation?"

"I am damned useless right now. This snow is blinding everything I have. Can't read anything on thermals either."

"Just hang tight and we'll pick you up and regroup."

"Roger Chief, I'll be right here… Doing nothing."

Snow began to swirl violently as Kelly and John ran towards the awaiting Pelican. This had to happen fast. Laser fire from the ground and the AT-AT exploded ice and snow into water vapor all around them. Kelly lifted her foot as the snow and ice exploded around it. The Spartan spun and managed to keep her footing as the Pelican's lone blinking light changed into silhouette and began to reveal the craft's features.

Kelly could hear the sounds of the walker as it pursued them. She wondered if she wouldn't be boarding a deathtrap that would just get blown out of the sky before they could take off.

A little closer in revealed a gunner in the Pelican's bay. The ship's mounted M247 began spitting out shells that zipped by Kelly as she closed the gap. John entered first and hit the control for the ramp to lift as Kelly leaped the last couple of meters into the troop bay. The craft was being rocked wildly by the storm.

"Suggest using seatbelts Master Chief! Going to be a bumpy ride!" Despite the jarring of the storm's turbulence, the craft shot up at a steep angle quickly away from the battlefield.

"Fred, Kelly and I will grab Linda and hit the rear guard. You and your team use this snow as cover to start taking out the Stormtroopers. We will need to have access to the machine's undercarriages to take them out."

"Finally, I get off this damned perch."

"How are you planning to…"

"We are going to ride the bull."

"Roger, we'll take care of things here. Fred out."

"How's it looking Chief?" Linda took off her helmet and wiped snow onto the grated floor of the Pelican. Her red hair was wet and matted down.

"We took one walker out. The other three still pose threat. We are on our way to take out the tail end now. Then hopefully between the tripline and red team cutting down the ground forces we can finish this up and head home."

"Let's get to it then." Linda's helmet sealed as she leaned back against the bulkhead.

"All right, we're coming in hot! The pilot was screaming to be heard over the wind flowing in and out of the pelican. Kelly could see enemy lasers on a straight trajectory to nowhere as they disappeared from view against the grayed sky.

The plan was simple enough. Maneuver the Pelican toward the rear AT-AT, swing it around, jump out of the back of the ship, landing on top of one of the walkers, and then doing whatever necessary to destroy - or possibly capture - said walker. Hitting them from below wasn't currently a good option. Far too many ground forces.

Besides, what is the worst that can happen?

Kelly let her mind ponder on the scenarios for a moment, and then decided it would be better not to think about it. Most likely the Pelican would be shot down before they got close. Kelly looked out as tracers zipped past them on their way to nowhere, getting consumed by the grayed sky above.

The Pelican shuddered as it hit more turbulence. The craft seemed to drop several meters before slamming down on an invisible floor and then repeating the procedure. Hopefully all the jostling was making for a hard to follow target.

The Pelican decelerated quickly as it swung a hard left. The Spartans unbuckled. "Alright kids, everybody out before your ride leaves! Go! Go! Go!"

Kelly stepped out behind Linda and John onto the back of the AT-AT. The wash from the Pelican's engines washed over the trio as they dropped down and crawled across the top.

"Let's work on the neck. See if we can cut a hole in that way." Kelly blinked her acknowledgement light as the black connecting tube for the AT-AT's head came into view. All three Spartans brandished a grenade as Kelly scooped up mounds of snow and used it as glue, packing it around each explosive. She rubbed enough to get some melting, and then stuck the grenade to the snow where it froze.

Moments later the grenades exploded, exposing a small hole in the neck. "Well, it's not much…" Kelly had not finished her sentence before John was punching at the lining, reaching down and tearing a large chunk of metal and wires away. The Master Chief's shields flickered as lasers began shooting forth from the cockpit.

Before Kelly could react John disappeared down into the neck. Suddenly the machine slowed to a stop as the legs suddenly stood silent. Kelly and Linda crawled over and as they were about to look inside the Master Chief reappeared. Giving thumbs up he turned and disappeared once more.

"You know how to drive one of these things?" Linda asked, amused.

"What, you don't?" The two shared a laugh as Kelly dropped inside.


	6. Chapter 6

"Ok, so its harder than I thought…" Kelly looked over the AT-AT's various controls curiously. The first movement had been a near disaster as the top-heavy giant had tipped on the verge of falling over.

"I hate being in this tin can. Give me some open ground to…"

"Chief, we have contacts! Inbound aircraft on rendezvous with accompanying ground forces."

"We're sitting ducks in this thing we need to…"

The AT-AT shook and moaned as the control panel in front of Kelly exploded in fireworks of sparks.

"Move! Now!" Kelly felt John grab her and jerked her from the seat. The three Spartans bounded into the cargo hold and out of the hole previously left by the rocket. Kelly began to free-fall from the walker's belly when the wave hit. Her initial momentum was magnified many times over as fire washed around her vision. Kelly impacted the ground hard and slid along the snow, carving a path away from the AT-AT.

Kelly looked back over her shoulder and was horrified as the huge fiery hunk of metal that used to be the walker fell towards her. Kelly quickly brought her knees to her chest and pushed off like a defensive tackle eager to get to the quarterback on a blitz. The ground shook below her feet as she lost footing and rolled. She found her footing again and looked back to see the remains lying on the ground, fire burning in spite of the snow and ice.

A howl rushed past and Kelly turned to see two oddly shaped aircraft fly by. Red lasers streaked from the craft and impacted the Leviathan. Tracers erupted from the ship and blew off one of the enemies' Hexagonal wings, sending it into a free spin right into the side of the Leviathan.

Four more ships passed across the valley on their way to attack.

_Of all the times not to have a Jackhammer._

"Spartans, we need to regroup. We have multiple vehicles coming down the valley. The front walkers will hit the trip line in a minute, but we don't know if that is going to bring them down. Admiral, we may need some help with this one. Round up any marines and rockets you can find. We have lots of vehicles out here."

"We'll give you what we have. Stanforth out."

"What do you have?" Kelly caught up with John as Linda peered through her scope next to him.

"A couple more walkers. 3… make that 4 two legged walkers. Lots of infantry, maybe one-hundred." Linda's rifle barked loudly.

"Ninety-nine."

"Red team, what's your status." Kelly heard a scream as Fred's comm became active.

"Grace! Dammit, Joshua, get her back to the Leviathan NOW!" A shot went through Kelly's heart as she listened in. Gunfire buzzed in her comm unit although it didn't register.

"Fred, what the hell is going on?" Fred seemed to ignore John's pleas for an update

"She is hanging on - Joshua, get some biofoam in that wound! - but we have to get her back to medical. Joshua is going to take her while I cover them. Damn large cannon took off most of her shoulder."

Howling from the Empire's craft boomed overhead. It was replaced by a roaring boom as the ship turned into a massive fireball; a Longsword's chin-mounted turret shooting it full of holes. Some of the concussion washed over Kelly, but she ignored it.

"Kelly." John's voice snapped her back to reality. "She will make it."

The words didn't do much to reinsure Kelly as she thought of her friend, her sister in war.

"Fred, we will rendezvous with you and help hold that line. Hopefully the Admiral can give us more support. Let's go blue team."

Kelly sprinted across the once white and pristine floor of Kerane valley. An increasing number of pockmarks scarred the tundra as lasers blasted snow into the air. White powder exploded all around as Kelly ran. She dropped to one knee and steadied her aim as an enemy ship passed overhead.

Fire shot from the BR-55's barrel as the bullets found their mark. The craft veered sharply to the left as it turned upside down and crashed into the bank of snow and rock ahead. Quickly back to her feet Kelly pushed on. Sweat lined her skin and her breathing quickened as she pushed herself harder.

Kelly knew that John and Linda would not be able to keep up, but her mind insisted she go faster. One Spartan had fallen and she was not going to let Fred do the same. Her legs burned as she trekked through the newly fallen snow. The new layers were starting to become a problem.

She dropped down from a small landing as Kelly spotted Stormtroopers closing in on Fred's position. She primed and tossed a grenade amongst them. Bodies went flying as others who managed to escape death turned to face the sprinting Spartan. Kelly slammed into the side of one as she gunned down another. She stepped on the first's facemask, crushing it and ceasing the soldier's movement.

A hail of gunfire dropped two more as Kelly's shields sank. More and more Stormtroopers concentrated their fire on this new threat as they continued to fall. Warnings blared as Kelly's shield dropped. She quickly rolled and sent another grenade into the enemies' mist. The flash sent soldiers in all directions, separating limb from torso and shredding others. It was when Kelly stood back up that she saw him.

Fred snuck up behind an enemy soldier and stuck his knife in the base of his skull. He then pulled the dead Stormtrooper close as lasers pelted the body. Fire from Fred's rifle sent more enemies to the ground as Kelly added her own. Suddenly the shooting stopped and only two were left standing.

"How is she?" Kelly slammed another clip in as John and Linda arrived at her side.

"She took a hard hit. I think she will make it. Not sure what it will take to get her and the armor back in action though."

"What are they doing?" Kelly turned at John's words and noticed the two remaining AT-AT's had stopped their advance.

"Shit, do you think they sensed the Lotuses?"

"Possible, although they will make good targets just standing there. Marines should be on their way out."

"We've got Troopers coming out." Kelly turned to see the walker's bellies once again open. Lines uncurled as they hurdled toward the ground below. One by one the Stormtroopers quickly descended and began spreading out.

"They are going for the trip lines. Take 'em out?" Linda was already targeting something, her near-perfect stance being the epitome of poise and patience and death.

"Affirmative. You and Fred hit the back line. Contact the marines for the assist. Kelly and I will hitch a ride and slow down the rear advance until you guys catch up."

"Tango six-one-two, Spartan one-one-seven requesting a ride."

"Roger that Chief, Your taxi is en route."

The Pelican rocked as lasers impacted its hull. The two-legged walkers had tracked them coming in and were closing in as Kelly's stomach fluttered. The quick descent ended and the gate began to lower as a drift of snow blew into and around the dropship's interior.

Kelly snatched the Jackhammer off her back rubbed it lovingly, glad to have more serious firepower for the fight to come.

"You know it will never last…" Kelly looked to John and the two shared unseen smiles.

"Don't worry, just telling love here that we have to get a little vengeance for Grace."

Kelly and John both grabbed extra Jackhammer ammo boxes and pitched them into the snow below.

"Surely. Ready?"

The two hit the ground running as the Pelican lifted slightly and began hugging the ground, consciously avoiding the walkers below the ridge.

The situation below was more than Kelly expected. She counted ten of the two-legged walkers up front, what looked to be several hundred troops, and two AT-AT's flanked by two more two-legged models bringing up the rear.

Through an obfuscated sky came several waves of aircraft, their engines howling ever louder as they approached. They immediately began an assault on the Leviathan as its guns began swatting them from the sky.

"Looks like they got serious on us."

"Somehow I feel this is hardly their version of a serious assault." Benchley's stint of silence was broken, which startled Kelly.

"Oh yeah, forgot you where here Benchley."

"Quite. Anyway, I think I have developed a plan that would get us out of this situation."

"Oh? And what is that?" Kelly watched as another fighter exploded and rained down remnants onto the Leviathan's hull.

"We get back to the ship and let them come to us."

"That doesn't sound like too good of…"

"Let me finish. We can kill two birds with one stone, so to speak. I have been monitoring chatter from the Leviathan and it appears that repairs are mostly completed. The slipspace drive is ready at least. Look at all the snow and the valley and no way out other than forward toward the ship or back where they came from. Now look at the Leviathan."

Kelly almost felt stupid. "Of course. The engines. They aren't in danger, they are our ticket out."

"So basically we drown them?" The Chief's voice was thoughtful as he turned toward the Leviathan.

"Exactly. Or at least make them have to swim instead of walk. We heat up the engines and concentrate fire in the valley. I think we need to get some more lotus mines and plant them on the outer banks. Bring the snow down on top of them and help crack the ground beneath. Then heat the place up. Then we get out of here."

"Fred…"

Already on the way to the Leviathan Chief. Will rendezvous with the pelican and Meet up with you shortly. Fred out."

The Pelican came in low and powered off next to Kelly. The ramp lowered and out walked Fred and Linda, followed by several marines that quickly spread out.

"3rd, 5th and 6th platoons are set up on the opposite bank. Not a lot of men to spare after the fight with the covenant. We got new orders from the boss."

Kelly's hud lit up with a tactical overlay of the valley. She studied the Marines' position as Fred continued.

"He is agreeable with the idea of turning this area into a lake, but we will need to bring down more snow and ice. The marines will set up mines along the west ridge in front and back while we take the east. We will then hit them to cause them to slow down and detonate the charges. With any luck the resulting avalanches should provide a nice makeshift trap to box them in. At that point we hightail it back to the Leviathan while they heat things up. They are currently taking fire from the front AT-ATs but the armor is holding. Any questions?"

"When do we start?"

"Ten minutes ago."

Kelly placed the last of the rear explosives and armed it. "Lotuses are live, Chief."

"Good, we are set up here too. Blow the line and get back here for extraction."

"Roger that."

Kelly was a good three hundred yards when the line detonated, and still struggled to keep her balance. She looked back to see the edge of the cliff disappear in a puff of white as she turned and began running. Her running quickly slowed, however, when a fireball that used to be the Pelican erupted in the sky.

"Dammit."

The remnants of the drop ship rained down into the valley below as Tie-Fighters swooped and dipped before climbing back up into obscurity.

"Kelly, they just…"

"I know, I know."

_Shit_

* * *

_**A/N: Thanks to everyone who has been reading the story so far. Hope you are enjoying it! Please feel free to leave some comments (good or bad :) )**_


	7. Chapter 7

Kelly began to experience something she hadn't since her training days on Reach.

Her legs were burning.

_Badly. _

She felt surely that at any moment they would fail and she would collapse into the snow that surrounded her and be carried or die. Training had taught her to push the pain from her mind, but it had started to fail. She wished for Mendez to be towering over her again, spewing out niceties in a fashion only he could.

But he wasn't here.

Kelly was sure he wouldn't want to be in this frigid hellhole of ice and lasers.

Reach.

The thought of the planet flashed through her mind. They had to get back. What if the Covenant found it and attacked? Without the Spartans to assist it would fall quickly and decimate the UNSC forces.

The Spartan looked over her shoulder at the valley below. It was now filled with mounds of snow littered throughout. One of the two-legged walkers has succumbed to the avalanche and now lay motionless at the bottom.

A reverberated rumbling had begun to crescendo down the length of the valley as the Empire's forces took notice and began concentrating fire on the Leviathan. Lasers darted from weapon to metal like angry bees chasing an intruder from their nest.

Soon, however, it became apparent that the forces knew the danger they were in. The intense heat from the cruiser's engines began to heat up the shells of the nearby AT-ATs, forcing them to turn and fall back.

The scene was quickly turning into chaos as the ground immediately behind the ship began to thaw and the first walker fell. Stormtroopers ran to get out of the way; some making it while other were burned up in the exhaust. Others yet were committed to graves of melting snow and ice that opened beneath them.

Rockets and grenades from the ODST and marine forces across the valley slammed into the formations. Bodies were sent flying as others tried to regroup and return fire. Linda apparently came back into her element as one by one Troopers began to fall. Light smoke trails puffed across the battlefield. Crisscrossing rockets began to divide the ranks.

A now familiar howling entered Kelly's ears as she turned to see a Tie-fighter unleash a volley toward her. She quickly rolled and came to position behind the craft as it passed. She became highly annoyed, however, at the click her rifle made when she pulled the trigger.

"I'm out!"

"Get out of there, its coming around!"

The fighter circled as Kelly quickly looked around. The shattered remains of the Pelican's hull lay several meters away. Kelly began to break into a sprint, but fell to the ground instead. Her legs pounded. This wasn't supposed to happen. She looked up just as a green bolt slammed into her followed by another. Her shield collapsed and another bolt impacted her back. Searing pain shot through her right side followed by an icy cold feeling across her torso.

Reaching back, Kelly could feel the hole in her Mjolnir armor and pulled her hand in front, noting the blood that covered her hand and ran down her gauntlet and dripped, staining the pristine white ground.

"Kelly, what's your status over?"

The Spartan felt like hell. She was sure from the injury and cold that she would be going into shock soon, if the damned Tie-fighter didn't come back for her first.

John's voice kept repeating in her headset, but instead her eyes focused on something odd. It was a creature, one she had seen before, coming toward her. Suddenly there were more, all two legged animals herded together and heading her way. Small drifts of snow obscured her view as she placed her hands by her shoulders and tried to push up. She gritted her teeth hard as the pain swelled and shot through her body.

As the dinosaur-like creatures came closer Kelly realized they were being ridden, not herded. Men and women wrapped tightly in layers of cloth and fur approached. The snow around her lit up as the Tie-fighter that had been circling for the kill exploded.

More fire erupted from behind her and Kelly saw one of the creatures fall along with its rider. She tried to turn and return fire, but lost her footing and fell back into the snow. Kelly looked toward the rebels and saw others began to dismount and join the assault.

Kelly heard shouting behind her as the firefight increased. The animals were quickly being brought down and just as quickly being used for cover.

The Spartan rolled onto her back and could see the Stormtroopers not fairing as well, being out in the open without the sacrificial cover. She held up her pistol and fired it. The bullet missed but alerted the intended target to her presence. Before he could return fire, however, a bolt exploded through his chest. The M6D and her hand fell heavily into the snow, and an aura began enveloping the outer rim of her vision.

The man apparently leading the pack lowered his weapon above her.

"Nice rifle." Kelly coughed, spraying droplets of blood onto her face shield.

"How many times are you going to need saving anyway? Sergeant Derek Nadeau stood with a mocking smile.

He motioned to the valley below with a quick jerk of his head. "Looks like you have yourselves quite the party going on down there."

Kelly wasn't sure how much longer she would remain concious. "I thought you washed your hands of us. What are you doing here now?"

"We have been ordered to tell you that we have lost Hoth. The Empire will continue to increase their presence on this planet. We are here to help make sure you get out before that happens."

"Thanks for the heads up, but we were just leaving anyway." Kelly groaned as she tried to sit up. Two other rebels managed to help her get erected.

"There is one thing. The Empire has set up a blockade that will prevent you from leaving the planet. We are going to help defend the orbital gun, which is helping us punch holes for us to slip through."

Sergeant Nadeau removed a datapad from his pocket. "Use these coordinates to fly yourself out of here. Hopefully there will still be a path left for you to go through. May the force be with you all."

A rumbling came from behind as a Pelican touched down and John leapt from the rear. Kelly watched as Sergeant Nadeau and his team disappeared again into the snow.

"Let's go Kelly, you need to get to Medical." John and Linda lifted her and headed for the dropship.


	8. Chapter 8

The bright light haloed in Kelly's vision as she squinted and began to sit upright.

"Lie down Kelly, you need to rest." John's voice indicated an order. She rested her head back against the firm pillow and closed her eyes.

"What's our status?"

"Stanforth is getting everything set up with the coordinates the rebels gave you. I am about to join Fred and the others to help defend while we get out of here. From what I hear Its going to be tough to get through the barricade." Kelly smiled.

"In other words quite SNAFU?"

Kelly opened her eyes and surveyed the room. "Where's Grace?"

"She is still in surgery. They are doing all they can for her here, but we really need to get her back to Reach."

A sudden rumble grew throughout the ship, and medical supplies on nearby shelves shook and rattled fervently. Kelly once again tried and managed to sit up.

"I'm coming with you."

"No you're not. You are going to stay here and get better. We all need to be at one-hundred percent when we get back to Reach." Kelly inwardly applauded John's use of 'when'.

"So stay here and get rested. We will keep this ship guarded until we figure a way back home."

John placed a metal hand on Kelly's shoulder, then quickly turned and raced out of the room. She quickly turned to the nearest nurse.

"Where is my armor?"

The bridge was brimming with activity when Kelly stepped foot on it. Her side hurt like hell and the hole in her Mjolnir armor revealed the dressing underneath. The tech had insisted that the armor be properly fixed before use, but Kelly had quickly persuaded him it wouldn't be necessary.

"John wouldn't let you back in the game I see." Admiral Stanforth didn't acknowledge Kelly's presence with body language, instead intently scanning star charts. Benchley's form flashed beside the Admiral, a myriad of numbers scrolling down his length. The small cylindrical robot from before displayed at a terminal in front of him.

"And you honestly think this will work?" A reply of beeps and blips came as the small robot shook and sputtered, apparently resenting Benchley's question.

"My calculations show a high possibility of… failure with this course of action." This admission got Stanforth's attention.

"Yes, I would say aiming a large cannon at our ass is a good opportunity for failure, and I don't need millions of calculations to come to that conclusion."

"The theory is sound, Admiral, but obviously untested. I have calculated the systems errors that occurred when we were thrown into this… time. Given the data from the R2 unit, I believe that we can recreate the event with a blast from the Rebel's orbital cannon. However, I can only say that we can recreate the 'event', but possibly not the results."

"And those results might be that we trash our slipspace drive as well as leave our ship dead in space in the middle of a firefight. I really don't like this…."

"Sir, with all due respect, I have analyzed all other options. None of the other weapons seem capable of providing the power overload we need to simulate the Covenant attack. We also have a very narrow window to escape from this battle. We could perform a standard slipspace jump, but I have no navigational data to tell me where we would end up. We could potentially do more harm than good."

Kelly wondered herself what the implications were as a feeling of acceleration began to take hold and the planet's icy surface began to fall away.

The Admiral's jaw clenched as he thought intently. "Fine, tell your little buddy to relay our request to the rebels. We will need to establish some sort of real-time link so you can guide them through the firing."

Benchley returned his attention to the R2 and began relaying the information. Movement caught Kelly's eye as a Tie-fighter raced across the forward screen trailed by a plume of smoke. Suddenly it burst into flames and descended out of sight.

Kelly hated being stuck inside, but she couldn't have her team worrying about her out there. They had a job to do while Kelly knew she shouldn't even be walking yet. A warning blared and a nearby screen lit up with contacts as tiny dots on the forward screen began to grow larger. A large contingent of Tie-fighters were inbound and more blips began to join them.

"Looks like we have some heavier craft joining the fight." Private Edmunds shouted as he tapped keys. "Fighters targeted sir."

"Fire the archers. Let's punch a hole and make them split. Have the guns ready to fire on them as they strafe the sides."

"Archers away sir." Multiple missiles created parallel plumes as they raced toward the incoming fighters. Some panicked and dodged too quickly, slamming into those around them and exploding.

The archers reached the Tie-fighters and erupted in fireballs that seemed to consume them all. Other fighters got through and continued racing toward the Leviathan as they unleashed their weapons.

Flashes of light struck the ship and caused small explosions. Just as they got close, the fighters quickly turned and revealed the bombers they had been protecting. Proton torpedoes slammed into the hull and opened holes into the ship.

"Sir, we have breaches in…"

"Seal them off private! We are about to exit the atmosphere and need to keep the air in. Tell the guns to focus on those ships. We can't afford to let them have more free shots like that."

"Relaying orders now sir."

Another alarm began to blare as Private Edmunds pulled up a ship schematic. "Sir, we have boarders on deck C near cargo bay seven!"

"How many private?"

"Looks like twenty-five sir. Correct that, another party boarding. Same area, starboard side! Count up to forty-five."

Kelly didn't wait to hear the command. Ship personnel jammed themselves against walls and in linking hallways to avoid the massive Spartan running down the hall. She turned a corner and then another as it opened up into a straight hallway.

"Sir, going to repel boarders, cargo bay seven. About to reach the armory."

"I am not going to bother to order you back to the infirmary. How many contacts?"

"Forty-five sir."

"Alright, get some ammo and head down there. Sending Fred to assist. The rest of us will stop any more leeches."

"Copy that sir." Kelly slowed and stopped in front of the infirmary as the door slid open. Inside a small platoon of ODSTs turned toward her in full battle armor.

"Sorry Spartan." The man practically spat the phrase. "The ODST will handle this. You can get your guns and play catch-up with whatever is left when we get through." The man walked up and tried to brush past Kelly using his shoulder, but found the Spartan to be an immovable object.

"And just what is your name?"

"Captain Elliott Sanders. Now move aside." Not wanting more time to be wasted, Kelly let the man and his platoon go. Turning her thoughts back to the armory, she quickly saw what she was looking for. She grabbed the BR-55 and four clips of ammo. A couple of grenades and a pistol later Kelly was running down the hall after them.

A laser blast hit the wall next to Kelly's head as she peered into the cargo bay. A quick scan had showed ODSTs spread out amongst various cargo containers and a warthog for cover. Kelly broke cover and headed for the warthog as well as lasers zoomed past, a couple connecting before she got behind the vehicle.

"Yes, it looks like you and your men have this well in hand."

"Just keep behind me and out of my way." Kelly was starting to get a little agitated with the Captain's tone, but that would have to be dealt with later.

She looked forward to it.

The enemy had good positions around the cargo hold. Containers and a Pelican all provided ample cover. The wide gap between the groups would make crossing a foolhardy venture, even for a shielded Spartan.

"Fred, what is your position?" The sound of a firefight filled Kelly's comm.

"Got pinned down on deck B. They are really pushing in. We have four boarding parties so far in addition to the two you are dealing with. Luckily John and the rest have taken up better positions and seem to be keeping any more guests from coming in."

"Copy that. Will assist when I get done here."

"Assuming you actually get done first." Kelly smiled. Always fun having challenges.

She crept around the side of the Warthog, hoping that the different view might give her some ideas. She peeked around the front of the vehicle and noticed the Stormtroopers shifting positions. She quickly pulled her head back as lasers impacted the front of the hog.

"They're on the move!" Kelly looked around quickly enough to see a small group of troopers break free and advance on the ODSTs position. There was just too much cover fire for them to fight back. Kelly quickly rolled and stopped on her belly, peering underneath the Warthog at the soldier's feet. She unclipped two grenades and sent them rolling toward the troopers. The two met halfway as the grenades exploded.

Fragments of white, bloodied and scorched flew in all directions. Immediately more Stormtroopers began another assault as a barrage came in Kelly's direction. She rolled behind the Warthog's oversized tire. A nearby "clink" got Kelly's attention, and she jumped away just as the grenade exploded. The front of the Warthog lifted and came back down broken. The blast propelled Kelly forward through the air. She smacked the ground and rolled as more lasers dotted the floor around her.

Kelly grabbed her pistol and fired, downing a trooper who managed to stick his neck out too far. A nearby explosion tossed a crate to the ceiling of the massive hangar and down again. Kelly looked to see the two ODSTs it had been protecting lying in pieces.

Another quick roll and Kelly had her rifle and was sprinting toward the enemy. She put the nearest man down as the remaining OSDTs laid down covering fire. Two more troopers dropped from their fire as Kelly blasted through three more. Lasers pelted her shield as she ran past for the nearest crate. It was a rather large crate that was solid and tall. Warnings began to blare as she slid behind the container and tossed a couple more grenades back around the corner. Their loud bangs shook the container Kelly propped herself against, clenching her wound which had began bleeding again..

Now split, ranks of Stormtroopers were thrown into chaos as their commanders tried to decide who was the bigger threat. The reprieve emboldened the ODSTs and their fire became more constant.

A Stormtrooper stepped around the side of the crate and pointed his rifle at Kelly. The Spartan struck out and the soldier's leg snapped at the knee. The man fell down screaming as Kelly brought her heel down on his face. A few more rounded the corner and fired, lasers washing over Kelly's shield as she smacked one with the butt of her rifle and shot another.

Listening, Kelly could hear the now constant report of the ODST rifles. She flung her last grenade over the top of the crate. As it exploded she checked her ammo.

"Dammit, only three more shots." The yelling of charging ODSTs filled the room as gunfire grew closer and Kelly heard scuffling. The Spartan threw down her rifle and drew her pistol. She was disappointed when an inspection of the clip revealed it only had six rounds. Stepping around the corner, Kelly was face to face with a Trooper who leveled his gun at her. With much greater speed she shoved her gun under the man's throat and pulled the trigger as the top of his helmet exploded.

The man's lifeless body crumpled as Kelly fired more rounds into the pistol suddenly empty, Kelly threw it at a nearby trooper, the handle of the gun punching a hole in his chest armor.

At the end all of them lay dead around the Spartan. Small piles of bodies lied motionless, blood filtering through the grated floor of the cargo bay. Kelly briefly checked over them to make sure none were moving. As she finished, she looked back to see the remaining ODSTs hovering around what remained of the deceased. Just beyond them Fred walked into the bay.

"Admiral wants us on the bridge." Fred turned and quickly walked out as Kelly followed. She stopped briefly to check on Captain Sanders and his men.

"Sorry for your loss."

"Yeah whatever." Captain Sanders failed to look at the Spartan as she took off for the bridge.


	9. Chapter 9

Kelly stepped onto the bridge and stopped at Fred's side. Loose parts rattled from the constant thumps of laser blasts. "Hostiles eliminated sir."

"Thank you Kelly, although I think the tougher fight is ahead of us." Kelly looked out the viewport as Hoth's glow gave way to the blackness of space. Tie fighters buzzed around like angry bees, attacking the Leviathan and Rebel ships. Rebel fighters fought back and explosions briefly provided light in the darkness.

The small fighters, however, paled in comparison to the monstrosities that floated beyond the fighting, players watching their pawns wage a violent game of chess. A bright light cut across Kelly's vision and one of the Star Destroyers exploded, its triangular nose separating and drifting away from the rest of the dead ship.

"Benchley, talk to me. When are we getting out of here? I don't know how long we will last against those ships."

"According to the R2 unit, the recycle time of the cannon is six seconds. They are asking that we wait and help defend their initial escape before we make the jump."

"Then they are asking too much. I will not risk the life of the people on this ship for a war we have no part of!"

"Sir, we have no choice. They simply will not fire on us until their conditions are met." Stanforth slammed his hand on a console, but no one turned to look. Everyone was busy pressing buttons and relaying commands. Kelly felt helpless as she stood watching them all. Kelly and her fellow Spartans didn't belong in space, but with their feet on the ground and a rifle in their hands.

"Fine, then let's get rid of the heavies before they decide to open fire. Benchley, ready MAC cannon and target the nearest capital ship. Fire when ready."

"Yes Admiral. I am coordinating with their forces on the ground to ensure we target different ships… MAC volley firing."

Kelly felt a dull _thump _as the bridge shuddered. The slug was not visible until it slammed into a star destroyer, slicing a trail to the right of its nose. Explosions erupted along the slug's path and large pieces of debris began breaking off.

The bridge shook as a laser from the dying ship impacted. Warnings blared as two more rounds hit. "Report!"

"Sir, gun stations eight and thirteen destroyed! Archer pods four through six also destroyed. Sealed off sections c-five and b-seven."

The ship shuddered again as another MAC round sailed toward its target. The ship tried to maneuver but instead showed its broad underbelly as the second round hit. Sections of the ship shattered as fighters around it exploded from debris.

"Target destroyed Admiral. Preparing solution for next target."

Two more blasts tossed some of the crew from their chairs and knocked Kelly off balance. Fred quickly righted her. "Thanks."

"No problem twinkle-toes."

Another destroyer took a hit from the rebel's canon, its command tower exploding into small chunks. As Kelly looked out she marveled at the immense number of ships. She didn't entertain the thought of such a conflict with the Covenant.

"How are things going groundside? Are they ready to blast us out of here yet?" The Admiral's voice was more agitated and gruff than ever as he glared through Benchley's form.

"Sir, they are reporting ground forces entering their vicinity. They have a few more ships that they have to get out of this system."

"Then keep cycling firing solutions. Make sure when they finally get a shot that we don't have any further interruptions. Status Report!"

"Hull integrity at eighty-percent captain!"

"Engines slowly cycling up… Currently at sixty-six percent."

The sequential reports kept coming in, a procedural cadence of things going wrong and those going right. Kelly kept her eyes forward, watching exploding ships light and fade like fireflies in summer.

"Can't there be somewhere we're not needed? Somewhere where there _isn't_ a war?"

"Well then life would just be damn boring wouldn't it?" Kelly smiled and blinked an acknowledgement light at Fred. The ship shuddered as another MAC round sped toward another ship, smashing off a large chunk of it. Moments later the ship tore itself apart.

"Sir, we have two new enemy ships in system! They are taking up flanking positions!" Laser fire pelted the Leviathan, and sirens began blaring. The bridge once again broke into a flurry of status reports as Admiral Stanforth ignored them.

"Fire archers out the sides. Target their tower and propulsion systems. Knock 'em out quickly."

"Sir, starboard side archers out of commission. Port side down to less than forty-percent!"

"Sir, it appears this planet has a wonderful moon out tonight." Kelly knew Stanforth could imagine the smirk hidden behind her mask.

"Indeed it does. Benchley, all ahead full speed, let's get out of this sandwich and head for the moon. Order gunners to fire on those ships, and see if we can get some more help from our friends on the ground. Then we'll circle around and take out what we can before we get out of here."

"Sir, ground communications have been broken. Receiving no response."

"Well this gets better and better. Benchley, give me full ahead, now!"

Inertia hit Kelly as the ship lurched forward, lasers pock marking its length. The Leviathan began to pull ahead as the remaining Archers struck the port side ship, but had little effect on it as it continued its barrage.

A flash came from the starboard and the bridge of the Leviathan suddenly froze. Finally Benchley broke the unnerving silence.

Sir, Covenant CSS-class BattleCruiser dead ahead.

"Dammit! Evasive maneuvers!"

"Sir, identified the ship as the Spirited Vagrant."

Kelly felt her heart sink. The only thing going for this situation had been the lack of Covenant. But now that hope was gone.

The Leviathan tilted as it raced toward the Cruiser. Lateral lines on the cruiser began to glow.

"Give me speed Benchley! We've got to get on top of it!" The Leviathan began to cross over the bow of the ship as plasma was let loose in every direction. Smaller craft disintegrated as the plasma traveled unimpeded toward larger ships. Multiple impacts occurred across all the section of space, as metal boiled away and gases vented.

"Admiral, the enemy communications are in total disarray. They have no idea what just hit them. What are your orders?"

"We need to blast that ship to hell. Any idea as to whether he is bringing friends?" Kelly felt nauseous.

"Not at this time sir. It appears they are here as we are, a bit lost and confused, although they seem to recognize the similarities between us and the people that inhabit this system."

"Then we have a new directive for the time being. We have to clear Covenant out of this area, and fast before they can relay their position. I still don't know what the hell is going on in this war, but any enemy of the Covenant is a friend of ours, for now."

"So what are we going to do, sir?" Fred sounded anxious, but in a typical Fred wanting to kill something sort of way.

"We let them take the brunt of it while we position ourselves. Come around and get a MAC firing solution. Hopefully they will have the cruiser's shields down and we can avoid getting shot long enough to fire.

"Sir, Covenant ship preparing to fire again. It looks as though we do have help."

Kelly saw the firestorm that Benchley referred to. Lasers from both sides flashed toward the new invaders and made their shields glow. More plasma spat forth and ships disappeared in a wave of heat and glow that quickly faded.

The pull of Hoth's smallest moon helped accelerate the Leviathan to speeds it would not have otherwise reached. The ship completed its trip and the Spirited Vagrant came back into view. Fire was still being exchanged back and forth, and the litter of many ships seemed to be filling the space.

"Are their shields down?"

"Yes Admiral."

"Then fire at will!"

The room got quiet as Kelly awaited the thump of a Mac being shot. The bridge, however, remained quiet.

"Benchley?"

"Sir, it appears we have a problem with the MAC cannon."

The Spirited Vagrant released another volley of white-hot plasma into space. Several ships exploded, but Kelly didn't even see them. She instead focused on the beam of plasma heading straight for the Leviathan.


	10. Chapter 10

Kelly's teeth ground together as the plasma bolt grew brighter in the viewfinder. This wasn't how she wanted to die. Not stuck up in space and certainly not a part of someone else's war. She didn't notice her tense muscles nor the chair back crushed in her grip.

"Evasive Maneuvers! Come around to starboard! Down eighteen degrees! Full power dammit!"

"Sir, engines up full, coming to starboard. Plasma impact in eight seconds."

Everyone braced as the ship protested the hard turn. Metal creaked and groaned from the stress.

"Impact in four… three…" The bolt of plasma missed the nose of the Leviathan and began boiling away plating on the port side of the ship. Alarms blared loudly as the ship shook violently. An officer sitting at her comm. Station was thrown into it, her head impacted the wall in front of her and spilled blood across her station.

"Sir, Venting atmosphere from practically every compartment on the port side. Sealing up sections, but there will be some residual leaks."

"Dispatch tech crews to plug them up. And someone get down there and see what the hell is wrong with the damned MAC. Benchley, are our friends still on the ground or not?"

"I am afraid they were forced out sir. It looks like their forces are withdrawing as well."

Kelly immediately looked up to see hundreds of ships exiting the system. The Covenant cruiser was still spitting out plasma at the large ships, which had been forced into the engagement.

"Sir, I do not believe we want them to destroy that ship, at least not yet."

"Explain Benchley. Since when do we not want to kill the Covenant?"

"Since they look to be our only hope of getting back to Reach. Their chatter indicates that ship is alone. Apparently it managed to somehow follow us here, but even with their advanced slipspace technology they cannot replicate their path nor can they contact other forces."

"Great, so if they can't get back then how the hell are we supposed to?"

"The same way we got here. I believe as before that with a timed blast we can use their plasma to get us back. Kind of a reverse-engineering, so to speak."

"Well, I don't think we will have a problem getting them to fire on us, but they sure as hell aren't going to fire when we tell them to."

"That won't be necessary admiral. The one drawback of plasma will be our biggest help. It's slow. That will allow me to make the calculations necessary."

"Then do it. However, we need to come up with a plan to blow those bastards out of this system as well. The thought of the Covenant perhaps finding another civilization like ours to wipe out doesn't exactly sit well with me."

"We have a Longsword left." Benchley's smirk was so big it almost looked cartoonish.

"Explain, Benchley."

"Certainly Admiral. The Longswords have the capacity for AI control, something the Pelicans lack. I could replicate myself and have one of the Spartans insert me into its system, along with its Shiva warhead."

The admiral's smirk began to mimic the AI's but then faded.

"Let's do it before they decide to send another round this way. Hopefully the Longsword coming at them will cause them to remember we are here."

"Replication complete Admiral." A small chip ejected from the pedestal beneath Benchley, which Stanforth removed and handed to Fred.

"Get it done soldier." Fred and Kelly snapped a salute and exited. They ran carefully down the halls as servicemen quickly ducked out of the half-ton soldiers' way. They soon came to the hangar and made their way to the aircraft. Fred slid the chip into the Longsword and immediately systems flared to life.

"All systems check out. Preparing for takeoff." The ramp closed behind the Spartans as they left heading back for the bridge.

"Longsword en route to the Covenant Cruiser." The lieutenant Rachel Dratch reported as Kelly stepped back onto the bridge.

"Good, launch a few archers in their direction to get their attention first. Make sure we have plasma coming at us when that Shiva goes off."

The sight out the forward viewport was still a sight to behold. The Covenant cruiser still spat plasma, which tore through Imperial ships both large and small. The sheer number of their forces, however, was overwhelming.

"It doesn't really look like they need our help." Fred quipped just as a capitol ship exploded.

"On second thought."

The view shifted as the Leviathan banked and turned. "Coming into position admiral. Longsword will be in effective Shiva range in thirty seconds. Archer impact in five."

_Too many damned variables. _

Kelly longed to just be on the ground, where things seemed simpler. You knew the enemy, and you had the tools to kill it. Instead they were all relying on a possibly glitched AI based off someone who was probably crazy to begin with.

"Archers impacted sir. Shields appear to be down. And they seem to have remembered we are here. They are scrambling Seraphs to intercept the Longsword. Preparing to fire the Shiva. Plasma is on its way."

The rear image showed the chaos that was unfolding. The Seraphs looked like angry bees buzzing around a slick purple hive. The Longsword was visually lost amongst the clutter, and the sight of the incoming plasma grew bigger by the second.

"Shiva launched. Longsword is destroyed. Setting proximity fuse remotely… Explosion in three… two…"

The blackness of space lit up, and Kelly's visor darkened to compensate. Layers of the Covenant ship was stripped away, the side facing the blast crumpling in and then exploding out. The blast continued to expand as it engulfed several Imperial ships as well.

"Processing… Plasma impact in four. Opening slipspace…" The Leviathan shook as it cut into the fabric of space. The plasma continued on its arc, unimpeded in the void of space. The ship jolted hard to port.

"Adjusting. Plasma impact… NOW."

Kelly lay beside John looking up at the stars wondering if there were other beings out there. Fireflies danced their dance above the children as John reached a finger up to touch one. She loved the young boy beside her, as much as any seven year old could anyway. Of course those sorts of feelings weren't expressed in the Spartan program, and although Kelly wanted to tell him right then as the cool breeze blew and the tall grass rustled, she instead jostled his hair as he turned his head and smiled. Perfect. They would always be together, Kelly knew.

Tomorrow would be another day of training with CPO Mendez, lots of panting and being yelled at, but she would do it, for him. With him. However tonight they would just lie together and tell silly stories or argue over who was faster. The one argument she wouldn't let him win.

"You still with us?" The familiar voice sounded through Kelly's helmet as she looked to see John knelt beside her.

"I think. What happened?"

"It got a bit rough when Benchley maneauvered us through slipspace with the plasma. The ship nearly got shaken apart."

Kelly looked around and realized most of the bridge crew was out, some bleeding. A med was looking over Stanforth, who had a nasty bump on his head. Fred and the other Spartans milled around behind John and helped tend to the injured.

"Did we make it?"

"See for yourself."

Kelly looked up to the view screen to see a sight that almost brought tears to her eyes. The planet Reach, the one she had called home for her training as a Spartan, glowed bright on the screen.

"Looks like we are home John."

"It certainly does."

"Sir, I am receiving a priority mission from Reach." The man at the comm. station was practically shaking.

"What is it corporal?"

Reach has detected… Ships sir. The Covenant have found Reach.

Kelly felt a tear fall down her cheek.

* * *

_**Author's Note: I hope you have enjoyed this story. Thank you all for reading. Please feel free to leave reviews.. :)**_


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